Online Learning Update

by WCET

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded WCET a grant to validate the Predictive Analytics Reporting (PAR) Framework. This project will aggregate data representing more than 400,000 student records from across six WCET member institutions to conduct large-scale analyses of federated data sets within postsecondary institutions to better inform loss prevention and identify drivers related to student progression and completion. A criticial area of focus for this project will be identifying factors impacting loss, progression and completion for the age 26 and under demographic in the United States. The principal investigator is Phil Ice, Ed.D., American Public University System (APUS).

http://wcetblog.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/gates-grant-analytics/

By David Glenn, Chronicle of Higher Ed

Online economics students do not absorb much material from homework and chapter tests during the semester—perhaps because they expect to be able to cheat their way through the final exam. That is the lesson from a study that Cheryl J. Wachenheim, an associate professor of agribusiness and applied economics at North Dakota State University, will present in July at the annual meeting of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/online-courses-should-always-include-proctored-finals-economist-warns/31287?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en

by Stacy Dymalski, Education Today

Used to be that online college classes and distance learning were the sole domain of those who had to juggle family and career WHILE going to school. But now online classes are showing up on college campuses just as much as co-eds. Why would that be? Don’t students physically go to college just so they can attend class and look the instructor square in the eye? Thanks to technology, and a slumping economy that trickles all the way down to kindergarten, the answer is both yes and no. Colleges and universities offer (and in some cases require) their on-campus students to occasionally take part of their course load online not because they want to, but because they have to.

http://www.classesandcareers.com/education/2011/04/29/4-reasons-online-classes-are-infiltrating-college-campuses/

by University of Illinois Springfield

It’s an exciting time as graduates come to campus – many for the first time – to participate in commencement ceremonies at the University of Illinois Springfield. This video provides a telling testament to the enthusiasm and excitement of online learning options to those students who otherwise would not be able to come to a campus to complete a baccalaureate or masters degree.

http://news.uis.edu/2011/05/uis-online-student-graduation-brunch.html

by the Trib Palatine

Miriam Kotacka doesn’t want to wait for her future. She’s only 16, yet she’s due to graduate from Aurora’s Metea Valley High School in a few weeks so she can begin training full time as a ballet dancer. She has been able to speed her education by taking a semester’s worth of classes on her Mac laptop. She has studied the stars, the human body and other subjects in virtual classrooms where teachers were present only through instant messaging, email or occasional video links. “I really liked the experience,” she said after wrapping up a semester of world literature two weeks ahead of schedule. “It helps to teach you those deadlines. If you’re going to take an online class, you need to pretty much pay attention. You can’t relax. It’s not a blow-off class.”

http://triblocal.com/palatine/2011/04/25/online-learning-for-illinois-high-schoolers-inspires-praise-suspicion/

by Shirley Leitch, Music for Deckchairs

Online learning does offer a more effective and flexible way of engaging students. It acknowledges and accommodates the double lives they lead, juggling paid work and study, often with parenting or community roles thrown in. It’s also opening up higher education to a host of other unexpected and transformative experiences; it gives us a chance to create a vision of education that thinks forward into the kind of future we want to shape, and that isn’t forever fussing about the internet as a place of risk and compromise, where stupid people do bad things, and have no standards for anything. Now that we know a bit more about the online world, we know it’s bristling with standards and rules: that’s how the whole thing keeps going.

http://musicfordeckchairs.wordpress.com/2011/04/28/online-learning-and-the-iron-triangle/

by Brooke Brown, Online Education News

In short, the $10,000 bachelor’s degree will most likely be a virtual degree, as Texas follows the national trend toward online education. Such a degree would be considered the economical, fast-track version of a traditional degree, and mainly appeal to working adults, parents or young students with obligations outside of schooling, said Van Davis, special projects director for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Davis said that the cost-effective element of the degree will not detract from the quality of the education.

http://www.classesandcareers.com/education/2011/05/02/texas-universities-lower-cost-of-degree-with-online-education/

By Tom James, The Olympian

English professor Euhna Jung returned from sabbatical this month, presenting her work on how to teach language courses, including teaching languages online, to the Olympic College Board of Trustees Thursday. Faced with transferring all six of her classes to online formats, Jung used her sabbatical to focus on refining her techniques for teaching in the online environment. “A couple of years ago, if someone had asked if I could teach a language class fully online … I would have said no,” Jung said. Now, thanks to her time on sabbatical, she said she’s prepared to do just that.

http://www.ocolympian.com/features/online-lessons-brought-to-the-classroom-1.2216827

by Karen Farkas, Cleveland Plain Dealer

Students enrolled in one or more online courses now account for 29 percent of the 19.34 million full- and part-time students enrolled in degree-granting universities in the United States, according to a report issued in November by the Sloan Consortium, a nonprofit group that promotes online education. Public, private and for-profit institutions representing about 80 percent of higher education enrollment responded to a survey for the report. About 63 percent said online education is critical to the long-term strategy of their institution. Public two- and four-year institutions have been in the lead in offering online courses, according to the report. But private colleges show a steady growth, and the expansion of for-profit universities is tied to their ability to offer online programs, it said. Master’s degree programs in education and health care, especially nursing, are among the most popular because they are required for job advancement and many students work full time, experts say.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/05/online_education_growing_as_co.html

By SONIA KOLESNIKOV-JESSOP, New York Times

As a university student, Avnish Desai was advised by his professors to never rely on Wikipedia content alone for his research. “In fact some discourage us from even using the Web site as a source of basic research,” he said. Now, as a fourth-year student in finance and corporate communications at the Singapore Management University, Mr. Desai, 24, has been asked as part of a class assignment to help create his own wiki page on digital media in India.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/education/02iht-educSide.html?_r=1

By Jayna Barker, The University of Cincinnati News Record

Don’t get me wrong, taking an online class has had its advantages. I can learn at my own pace and choose when I want to “go to class” virtually, which, for the most part, is late at night when most on-campus courses are no longer offered. I can take my math midterm from the comfort of my couch. If you plan on taking an online class, keep a few of these things in mind:

• Tip 1: Online does not mean easy.

Taking virtual classes is just as academically challenging as sitting in the classroom. Don’t assume you will receive an A just because the quizzes are open book and you are not required to be in class every day.

http://www.newsrecord.org/living/college-living/keeping-in-line-with-web-classes-1.2557249

by Brooke Brown, Classes and Careers

These days, phones can do just about everything. Among the apps for checking your Facebook, tweeting, light saber fighting, calculating dining tips, beat boxing, autotuning and locating a lost phone, a new app from the University of Phoenix shows that even as phones are becoming increasingly time-wasting, they also becoming increasingly helpful. The PhoenixMobile app, offered free of charge in the iTunes store, gives iPod, iPad and iPhone users and University of Phoenix students the chance to interact in online classrooms via their mobile device.

http://www.classesandcareers.com/education/2011/05/01/university-of-phoenix-launches-online-course-app/

By Jennifer D. Jordan, The Providence Journal

In his 17 years, Daniel Collin McNulty has missed more days of school than he has attended, spending weeks at a time in the hospital battling illnesses caused by autoimmune diseases. Daniel’s diploma will be testimony to his perseverance, the devotion of his parents and the dedication of a team of Woonsocket administrators, guidance counselors and teachers who developed an “e-learning” approach that enabled Daniel to keep up with his peers by studying on his laptop whenever he was healthy enough, including nights, summers and weekends.

http://www.projo.com/education/content/daniel_mcnulty_graduates_05-01-11_J7NL4TL_v138.19434bd.html

by students in Dept of Training and Development, University of St. Francis

Students led by Professor Joy Thompson of the Department of Training and Development at the University of St. Francis have developed a resources site for e-learning. Linked sites are reviewed.

https://sites.google.com/a/stfrancis.edu/e-learning/

By Jody Lawrence-Turner, The Spokesman-Review

Not only will 16-year-old Kayla Heard be the youngest Washington State University graduate on record at Saturday’s commencement, but she earned her entire bachelor’s degree without ever visiting campus. “That’s rare,” said Randy Spaulding, Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board’s director of academic affairs, remarking on both details. “I think the fact that she never had to step foot on campus is a little unusual, but we will see more and more of that.” Heard is not typical – she started reading before age 2 and graduated from high school at 10 years old, earned her Associate of Arts degree at 13 and now a bachelor’s.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/may/06/teen-earns-wsu-degree-entirely-online/

By Robert J. Bahash, International Business Times

The availability of online learning and tools for ever younger students is becoming a new focus today as we realize how dependent our world really is on the skills honed through electronic communication, social media, and abbreviated calculations of how our world works. Tools that build critical thinking through games, encourage collaboration and provide real-time assessment and remediation have become a secret weapon for many schools in helping to prepare their students for the real world. Students’ formative high school years – especially critical – provide teachers with an opportunity for instilling college and career readiness, an inclination critical to success in any post-graduate environment.

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/142051/20110506/online-learning-education-future-students-classroom-teaching-new-techniques-of-education-access-to-l.htm

by Brooke Brown, Online Education News

Most prison inmates have restricted Internet access, which is seemingly an understandable and worthy limitation. Restricted Internet access prevents inmates from communicating with the outside world at an improper and dangerous level and also prevents scams and further crime. However, these restrictions are also preventing inmates from taking online courses, earning higher education and degrees and ultimately increasing chances of ending up back in prison after being released. And, ironically, sending someone to prison costs about as much as a year tuition at Harvard. So educating the 2.3 million inmates in United States prisons is arguably a worthy investment.

http://www.classesandcareers.com/education/2011/05/05/prison-inmates-will-benefit-from-online-courses-study-showsa/

by You-at-Work

Companies looking for effective ways to boost employee engagement may find the process of e-learning beneficial. According to representatives at XpertHR, using online resources can be particularly useful for larger corporations with high staffing levels. Utilising such packages across a professional network can help make the process of employee skill building more efficient. However, training editor at XpertHR Charlotte Wolff believes any system used needs to be interesting and fun if it is to have the desired effect.

http://www.youatwork.com/128/section.aspx/974/E-learning-can-help-boost-employee-engagement—

by Shai Reshef, Huffington Post

There are millions of people around the world, right now, who wish to access higher education but cannot. For example, in Sub-Saharan Africa, only 6% of all eligible students are able to access higher education (UNESCO). Online learning is one way of distance learning that presents an extraordinary opportunity to help address disparities in access across developing countries. It allows anyone, anywhere in the world, to study without requiring governments or private parties to expend heavy investments required in establishing and expanding traditional universities. Online learning allows for a more equitable and accessible higher education system whereby rural students can complete their studies without leaving their communities and students working to support their family can take advantage of a flexible study schedule.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shai-reshef/distance-learning-for-dev_b_848462.html

by Peabody Institute Library

Universal Class allows patrons to take self-paced online courses with live instructors. This is an excellent tool for those seeking professional development, continuing education, or extra training on particular topic. Universal Class can also help expand knowledge in an individual’s areas of interest. There are up to 500 courses to choose from including writing, computers, cooking, and even canoeing. Patrons have up to six months to complete each course and they receive grades and feedback from the instructors. Patrons can also choose to receive a formal certificate of completion when the coursework in finished.

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/peabody/2011/04/peabody_institute_library_laun.html

by Phylise Banner and Larry Ragan

Serving as Learning Guide – Phylise Banner, Senior Instructional designer with the SUNY Learning Network, speaks to the role of the online instructor to serve as a guide for the students through the learning experience – World Campus Competencies for Online Teaching Success (COTS) Penn State Faculty Development.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLUqOMK5ASQ